I always get mixed feeling when reviewing short films. On one hand, some of the best content I've seen has been in the form of a short. The other aspect is that it's easy to end up with some really hard to watch, poorly put together footage. I realize that we all have to start somewhere but at times it can become overwhelming. The short film Aftermath is not one of those. What we have here is an emotional short that slaps you in the face with it's gritty, yet real representation of true depression and it's effects. Tofic Rzayev has a quick yet visceral way of bringing home the emotional bacon. A gift that will ensure success to any future productions.Aftermath is an 8 minute short film. When you have a piece that's this short, there really isn't a lot to say without giving it away. So let's start at the beginning...The writing. From my standpoint, Aftermath is written with some true feeling backing it. We also have a gift for setting up and putting into play some really great pacing, pacing that seems perfectly timed to bring forth an emotional response. There's nothing flashy here, but a flashy makeover would have seriously harmed this production. Keeping it real adds that extra touch of emotion to a short film that is based on emotions themselves. I must also all that the talent does an amazing job at showing their respective emotional stresses, simply by their gestures or facial expressions. For me, this was a must since this is a sub-titled piece. Without their near flawless executions, I may have been lost in translation. Never the case though. I think even without sub-titles I could have gathered what was going on in Aftermath. Great job guys! The area in which this film suffers a little is the camera work. Aftermath is presented handheld, or seemingly handheld. As a viewer you may think a shaky take could convey unstable emotions. It does not. Even from a technical aspect, handheld shots are used to incite feelings of adventure and action. Not drama. It could have been very difficult to get into the dramatic setting with the camera bouncing and shaking all over the place. Luckily, as I wrote above, the script was solid and the actors did such a great job. Had the bulk of Aftermath been shot on a Tri-pod, maybe even with a slow zoom added it would have been emotionally ten times more hard hitting. As it sits right now, this is a great short film that is not only free to watch, but it's a goodfilm that's free to watch! So what are you waiting for? Give it a view and let us know your thoughts below.-JT

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